A New Last Name for Gisela
by CharmedReality
Summary: Fictional back story for how Gisela came to be Gunter's daughter. Set in the past. Gisela and Gunter.


**A New Last Name for Gisela**

Gisela read the letter three times before she managed to take in all the content over the sound of her heart slamming in her chest.

_Madam Gisela Bufort,_

_Due to your questionable heritage it is the decision of this court that you can not be permitted to remain in the service of Blood Pledge castle. It is necessary to protect the Mazoku nation above all else. We hope this is your wish as well._

_Soldiers will arrive to escort you from the premises before sundown. Please take whatever measures you must to remove yourself by then or before. Your possessions will be searched prior to your evacuation, so be sure to only take items specific to yourself._

_We appreciate your understanding in these trying times._

_Stoffel von Spitzburg_

_Regent of Shin Makoku, Heir to the throne_

Heir to the throne? Self-proclaimed heir to the throne was more accurate. The Shinou directed decisions like that through Ulrike and lately it seemed to have little to do with lineage. Calling Cheri's sons princes was more of a pleasantry than anything. Besides, if it were a regular succession then Stoffel would be in charge now.

Then again…it was Stoffel's note and not Cheri's that she was reading.

Gisela desperately wished Julia was not away on assignment. She would have found some way around this decision. She had been under the woman's deft tutelage for the last couple of years, ever since she had arrived at the castle seeking…shelter, work, purpose, anything but the life she had known.

She had never known her father and whenever she asked about him, her mother would change the subject.

"Did my father have green hair too?"

"Have you finished washing the dishes?"

"What element did my father bond with?"

"Have you made your bed yet?"

"Is my father dead?"

"When are you going to have your homework done?"

Eventually, she had stopped asking. After all, asking questions about him had become synonymous with chores, so she was fairly sure she didn't want to know more about him.

Her mother was very clear in her memory. She had dark gray hair and gleaming jade eyes. Her lips were always a natural deep rosy shade that rivaled the women who used products to enhance their beauty. And above all, she had been a hard-working, dedicated, and talented seamstress trying to scrape by enough to keep food on the table.

Gisela didn't make her job any easier. She was always showing the boys in the village that she could throw harder, run faster, and climb higher than any of them which took its toll on her clothes. Even her patches had patches by the time her mother would be able to afford enough cloth to fashion something new.

The green haired child was determined, mischievous, but also very respectful to her mother whom she loved with all her heart. But it was her mother's heart that was in question. And one afternoon after Gisela had made the rounds in the village looking for new customers for her mother's talents, she returned to find the woman very still. She would have looked like she was sleeping pleasantly if she wasn't on the floor.

Gisela had dropped down to her knees. Their village didn't have a healer. The closest one was half a day by horse and her mother's skin was already cold to the touch. She didn't know what to do then, and she didn't know what to do now.

Her small hands ripped the note until it was nothing more than confetti falling upon the stone floor beneath her. She didn't know whether to scream or cry, so she did a bit of both as she spun blindly, desperately seeking some kind of solution when she ran directly into silk.

Large green eyes blinked up at the owner of the silks which were currently covering the chest she had walked into. "Lord von Christ! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to… I'm sorry." She had seen the man before when he had come to visit various soldiers in the infirmary when she was performing her training hours, but she couldn't remember ever speaking to him before.

The man with long, silvery lavender hair touched the girl's shoulder and looked down at her with concern. "Gisela, isn't it? What is the matter?"

"I.." she trailed off, not sure what to say to him. He was a noble and she knew nothing about his politics. She had never found those sorts of things interesting or important, until today. But it didn't really matter, did it? If they threw her out she would be back to where she started after her mother's death.

She'd be wandering from one town to another looking for any kind of work she could find at her age, unattached to a family—dangers around every turn and a far too easy slide into less reputable pursuits.

She was lucky that Julia had seen promise in her that day the guards shooed her away from begging at the castle gates. She'd become very good at begging, and at liberating coins from people when they weren't paying attention.

It would have been easy for them to turn her away or throw her in the dungeon. She knew she deserved it, and yet this strange blind woman had seen something in her that she had forgotten was there—a future.

She didn't want to be trapped in the present again. She didn't want to leave. So, she answered the man's question honestly. What did she really have to lose at that point?

She blurted out everything from the letter and how her instructor would be gone until after the deadline. It all came out in one gushing stream along with plenty of tears which left watermarks along Gunter's fine robes.

"I see," was his only response once he was satisfied that she had finished.

Gisela's heart sank. She didn't know what she'd expected him to do about it. He was just some noble she'd bumped into on the second worse day of her life. He didn't owe her anything. He could probably see her the same way the letter did—as a questionable young adult who was better off away from the beautiful people with their powerful maryoku and long bloodlines.

"Do not leave before the soldiers arrive to escort you," he finally commanded before placing a handkerchief in her hand and turning away in the opposite direction.

Gisela watched him go with sad, green eyes. She wiped her face on the soft fabric and noticed the violet stitching which spelled out "von Christ." It was nice. Maybe she could sell it once she was on the streets again.

She dejectedly turned toward her room, leaving the scattered papers where they had fallen.

There really wasn't that much packing to do and time passed too quickly. The traitorous sky was already warming with rich red and orange tones, but she still jumped when there was a sharp rapping at her chamber door. For one insane moment she looked around the room for a place to conceal herself. Maybe she could just hide in the castle until Julia returned.

But even if she did, she'd only be getting the healer in trouble. After all, she had other things to worry about. And the fiery girl had been many things, but she had never and would never be a burden! It was with that confidence that she boldly pulled her door open. Of course, her confidence didn't stop her arm from shaking as she did so.

She blinked when she saw there were no soldiers standing there. Instead, it was that same noble man from before—von Christ. Her voice faltered for a moment, but then she managed a weak greeting.

"I have made arrangements. You can unpack your belongings."

"I…but…how?" She stammered out snippets of her thoughts, trying to wrap her mind around the situation. Was she really going to be able to stay?

"I spoke with Lord von Spitzburg. He refused to resend the order, but I have seen to it that the order no longer applies to you."

"No longer applies to me?"

"Your lineage is not in question. From this day forward, you are Gisela von Christ, my adopted daughter." The tall man paused, losing some of the forcefulness he'd possessed just a moment before. There was something a bit more vulnerable in his eyes as he continued. "That is, if you accept. You won't be forced into such a…"

His words were cut off when once again the young woman barreled directly into his chest, this time purposefully.

Surprise melted into a smile on both faces as he returned her exuberance with a dignified, but warm hug.

He couldn't stop that man from sending the children he had trained in combat out to meet their deaths, but he could stop him from sending this one girl out to face whatever hardships she might find. It wasn't much, but for today, it felt like he had won a major battle.

Tomorrow he could be shocked at his own decision and deal with the repercussions of such an act both within his own extended family and in the court at large. He also decided to set aside some time to learn a bit more about his…_daughter_.

For her part, Gisela was just happy that there would be a tomorrow.


End file.
